I'm (Not) Fine!
by Yoshi-G-teh-First
Summary: Apollo is sick, but as always, he claims he's fine! But is he really?
1. Chapter 1

Le gasp! What's this? A new fanfic before the new chapter of The Great Speckled Attorney? Yes, due to circumstances, I am posting this new fanfic, which will hopefully hold my readers over, until I can finish TGSA chapter 4.

Characters belong to Capcom, not me. Enjoy! c:

* * *

~~I'm (Not) Fine!~~

-Chapter One-

Apollo knew it was going to be a _very_ long day from the moment he woke up. His head and his throat both ached, and he could barely breathe through his nose at all.

"Ugh...Damn allergies..." he groaned, as he sluggishly walked to the bathroom, to see if he had any allergy medicine. Just his luck, he didn't have any! He decided to take a hot shower instead, with the steam being the next best thing. After his shower, Apollo was able to slightly breathe again. Carrying on with his morning routine, Apollo attempted his Chords of Steel workout.

" **My name** \- *cough cough* **My name is** \- *cough cough cough* **My name is Apollo Jus** \- *cough hack cough* **My name is Apollo Justice and I'm** \- *cough hack hack cough*" His attempts forced him into a coughing fit, which practically forced him to his hands and knees. It took him a minute to catch his breath again. "Okay, throat! You win!" he whispered, as to not strain himself further. Apollo conceded that he _may have_ overdone it the day before, and went on to get dressed and ready for work, despite subconsciously wanting to go back to bed. It was already a crap morning on his own free will, he couldn't imagine the _**hell**_ of a morning that awaited him at the agency.

* * *

"*bla-choo!*" Apollo sneezed into his coat sleeve. Bad enough he had to ride his bicycle to work during an oncoming cold front; when he was about halfway there, it started raining! Now his headache was worse, and he was congested all over again.

'A _really_ long day!' he sullenly reminded himself as he stepped foot into the Wright Anything Agency. Sure enough, he was correct.

"Good morning, Polly!" came the shout of a familiar young magician, aka Trucy, who was home from school since it was a Saturday.

"Mornin'." Apollo mumbled, not realizing the scratchiness in his voice. As he removed his coat, he felt a small chill, and quickly put it back on. "So, kinda dumb to ask, but anything n-n-*na-choo!*...new today?" he asked, wiping his nose on his coat sleeve. He had to ask, as the law office hadn't had much luck with new cases, until today.

"Yeah, Daddy and Athena are both looking over a few reports right now." Trucy answered. "Also, bless you!"

' _In other words, whatever is in the paper, or trending online_.' he thought, and was about to say out loud, until a few coughs cut him off. As the coughing subsided, he saw Trucy looking at him in concern.

"Are...Are you doing okay?" she asked. "You sound like you have a cold."

"I'm fine." Apollo quickly answered. If she was serious about them having a new case, then he was certainly not just about to call in sick! He took his coat off, and quickly joined his two fellow lawyers in the adjacent room.

"Morning, Apollo." Phoenix and Athena said in near unison, while keeping their eyes glued on the papers in front of them.

"Morning." he mumbled again, before plopping down on to the couch in front of them, and skimmed through some papers himself. "Any luck yet?" he asked, rubbing at the sides of his head between his temples and his ears.

"No, not yet..." Phoenix mumbled, as he briefly glanced up at the other man.

"Although this aggravated assault case has my interest piqued!" Athena added, nose-deep into a case file.

Apollo coughed a few more times. "Aggravated assault?" he asked, now noticing how scratchy his voice really was.

"Yeah, you wanna s...?" she trailed off as soon as she got a good look at him. Apollo definitely wasn't himself today: His hair was half flat, probably from the rain, his face was pale aside from his cheeks and nose, which were flushed, and the right side of his nose was running, which he seemed to notice as he sniffled every so often. He also occasionally rubbed at his throat or his head. Naturally, Athena couldn't help but show concern. "Apollo, are you sick?" she asked, tempted to feel his forehead. Only when she asked this, did Phoenix look up and make the same observations as his protege.

"No, I'm fine." the sick lawyer insisted, though his actions soon betrayed his words. As his headache worsened a little, he leaned his head into his hands, and closed his eyes. Soon after, he gradually started to doze off.

"Polly..." Trucy whispered softly into his ear.

"What?" he grumbled.

"Are you sleepy?" she asked, in the same whispered tone.

"Mm." he answered. "My head hurts, actually."

"Just your head?" Athena asked, doubt ever so prominent in her voice.

"My ears and my throat, too." Apollo honestly answered, before two sneezes escaped his nose.

"Gesundheit!" Athena said to him.

At that point, Phoenix could not ignore his parental instincts. Standing over his protege, he laid one hand on Apollo's forehead, and the other hand on his own. Apollo opened his eyes, and looked up as this was going on.

"Okay, young man. No cases for you." Phoenix firmly stated as he drew his hand back. "I'm taking you home, and giving you a couple of days off to get better."

"B-but I'm fine, really..." Apollo insisted, but was quickly cut off by a harsh coughing fit. As much as his job irritated him at times, he still hated to miss out on potential turnabouts.

"No buts." Phoenix told him, as he handed the other man his coat.

"And none of that 'I'm fine' crap, either." Athena added. "Anyone could tell you're far from fine." she paused, and felt his forehead, as well. "Plus, do you really plan to take on a case with a fever?"

"Apollo, you really should go home and rest." Trucy stated, her face full of worry.

Apollo rubbed as his temples, and stood up to put his coat on. He knew his arguments would be in vain. All three of his colleagues could see right through his lies, easily.

"Alright, fine." he grunted, as he headed out the door.

* * *

And there we have it! I can't get the "e"'s in protege to do the thing, so sorry about that. I use WordPad, and I'm not sure if there is a way to change letters with it. Anyway, I'll have more chapters for this and TGSA soon! c: Honest reviews, please!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two is finally here! I apologize for the wait, I've been juggling life while struggling with writer's block, but I finally got this finished! Also, I fixed the typos pointed out in Chapter 1, and will go back if there are any more that I missed. And to the person with that one request, I will have the first chapter up, hopefully later this week, so you can look forward to that.

In the meantime: Enjoy! c:

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Chapter Two

Apollo opened the small bottle sitting at his bedside table, and poured the proper amount into its designated cup before bringing said cup to his lips, and forcing himself to drink the bitter "cherry" flavor liquid that was his cough syrup. Thrice a day, for the past two days, he did this. Yet still, his cough and sore throat would not go away! In fact, his fever was the only symptom to show any sign of improvement.

"Ugh..." he gagged at the taste that still lingered in his mouth, as he went to the kitchen get himself a cup of water. As Apollo took a few sips, a small amount attempted to choke him, and he coughed as he hit himself in the gut as if to give himself the Heimlich maneuver.

"Now what was _that_ about?!" he asked himself upon regaining his composure, and being able to breathe again. It wasn't like the water was trying to go down the wrong pipe, so to speak; it was more so as if he almost couldn't swallow. This was the fifth time he found himself having trouble swallowing, yet the first time it happened with just water! And even he knew that wasn't normal for a common cold!

' _That was definitely odd_. _Whatever this "cold" actually is, it's not getting better_!' he thought, as he got dressed, and got his coat, deciding it was high time to go see a doctor.

* * *

Apollo sniffled and wiped his running nose on his coat sleeve, as he sat on the cold, hard exam table, anxiously awaiting for one of the doctors of Hickfield Clinic to enter the room. A nurse had called up his name, and told him to wait in that room, at the promise of a doctor being there 'shortly', but that was at _least_ 10 minutes ago! He had better places to be than this cold, intimidating place!

' _Why do doctors have to take so long to get these things over with_?' he thought, just before hearing the door click open, and a young female physician entered the room.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Courtland. I'll be filling in for Dr. Hickfield today!" she greeted, before referring to her clipboard to go over what her patient had written down and submitted to the nurses at the front desk. "So, Apollo, you came in for a cold, possibly the flu. Mind elaborating on that?"

"Well, a couple of days ago, I just thought allergies were getting to me, since I woke up to a stuffy nose, and an itchy throat." Apollo explained. "I also had a headache that got worse by the time I got to work, and my boss sent me home when it turned out I had a fever." As soon as he finished speaking, a thermometer was stuck under his tongue, forcing him to stifle an oncoming cough. After what felt like forever, in reality no more than about two minutes, the thermometer beeped off and was taken out of his mouth.

"101 degrees." Dr. Courtland stated, only a little surprised by the results.

"You mean it went back up?" Apollo asked, shocked and confused enough to let out his stifled cough. "When I checked this morning, it was only at 99 degrees!"

"Hm." the good doctor cocked her head, before a question came to mind. "Have you done any rigorous exercise today?"

He thought about it for a moment, then answered. "I rode my bicycle over here."

"There you go! Your temperature could've gone up on the way over here!" Dr. Courtland confirmed, as she put her stethoscope to her ears to check his heartbeat. As Apollo took some deep breaths, he coughed a few more times, all harsher then the last one.

"Hm. Okay. How have your headaches been? Where have they hurt exactly?" the doctor asked, as she observed Apollo rubbing at the sides of his head between his temples and his ears.

"Closer to my ears." he answered, and Dr. Courtland checked his inner ears, but saw no potential infection.

"So your ears hurt, but there's no infection; and that cough of yours sounds really bad." she remarked. "How about I check your throat next?" she asked, as she pulled a tongue depressor out of its canister and held it up to Apollo's face. "Say 'ahhhh'!"

"Ahhhh!" Apollo mimicked upon opening his mouth wide enough to be checked. From there, she saw his sore red throat was accompanied by two swollen glands at the back of his mouth. Right then, a diagnosis was ready to be given.

"Well, good news is you don't have a cold or the flu!" Dr. Courtland stated, as she took the tongue depressor out of his mouth.

"Oh!" Apollo was surprised, but then thought about it, and was about to ask what the bad news was, when it was given to him.

"The bad news, however..." she paused. "...Those tonsils will have to be taken out."

There was another short pause before Apollo responded. "Not at this clinic, they're not!" he firmly stated, as he attempted to leave.

"However!" she added, which stopped him in his tracks. "There is an alternative for me to prescribe you some antibiotics instead. The medicine usually works, but if it doesn't, or it does, but your symptoms relapse, you _will_ have to have your tonsils taken out." A pause. "So what's your choice?"

' _I_ _really_ _don't wanna go through surgery_ , _so_...' he thought, before he gave his answer. "...I'll try the antibiotics first."

"Alright." the good doctor remarked. "I'll go ahead and write the prescription then!"

* * *

-3 weeks later-

The 2-week prescription of antibiotics Apollo was given worked surprisingly well, and his tonsils returned to their normal state, and his other symptoms gradually went away. However, a little over a week after taking the last pill, familiar symptoms came back to bite him in the ass. And this time, there would be no escape from it.

"Polly~" Trucy whispered into Apollo's ear, even though the young defense attorney had been at the law office overnight, and was now trying to get some rest.

"What is it this time?" he groaned, as he sat up and faced her.

"You stayed overnight again, huh?" she asked. "My bed's free if you wanna lie down for a couple of hours!"

After sitting in a desk chair most of the night, the offer was too good to resist.

"Thanks. I think I will." he said, a hint of scratchiness in his voice.

"No problem!" Trucy smiled.

* * *

Apollo awoke a few hours later, only slightly less tired than before. Despite wanting to go back to sleep, he forced himself to get up and go back to his desk. On the way there, he let out a few coughs and sniffles, and rubbed at his throat. The temptation to call in sick was strong with him, as he sat down, only for his head to start pounding. He rubbed his temples, as he inhaled sharply, and let out a few coughs which turned to a coughing fit. After what felt like a few minutes, he felt a hand rubbing his back, while another rested itself on his forehead. Apollo knew what was coming next.

"I'm _not_ fine..." he groaned as soon as the coughing let up, emphasizing 'not' instead of 'fine'.

"I didn't think so." Phoenix remarked, as he handed the other man some cough drops. "Is it your throat again?" he asked, concerned as he was fully aware of last time.

"Yeah..." Apollo confirmed, while rubbing at his throat. "I'll go back to the clinic later today."

Phoenix shook his head. "You'll be going _now_." he stated firmly, as he handed Apollo his coat. The younger attorney didn't bother arguing, and instead obeyed his boss and got up to put his coat on. To some, the two mens' relationship could be viewed more as father and son than employer and protege, especially in instances such as this.

"Alright, let's go." Apollo tiredly spoke, as he popped one cough drop into his mouth, and shoved the rest into his coat pocket before heading out the door, with his boss a few paces behind.

* * *

"Ahhhh!" Apollo opened his mouth wide enough for Dr. Courtland to examine.

"Hmm...Well, Apollo..." The young physician spoke, as she drew back the tongue depressor. "I'm not sure how this happened, but you _will_ have to have your tonsils taken out!"

Apollo simply groaned.

* * *

And there's Chapter 2! It's about time I got to the point on this story. So, Apollo has tonsillitis, an inflammation of the tonsils. Symptoms look initially like a common cold, aside from ear pain and difficulty swallowing. Treatment doesn't always require surgery, and in fact can be easily resolved with antibiotics. However, more than one bout in a short period of time can prove the need for surgery anyhow!

So there's your health lesson for the day! XD I'll be sure to have more chapters up soon. Honest reviews, please! c:


	3. Chapter 3

Here's Chapter Three! Finally! I know I said TGSA would be next for a new chapter, but I'm still writing its rough draft. On the bright side, this one only has one more chapter to go after this!

Enjoy! c:

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-Chapter Three-

"I've got a bad feeling about this..." Apollo muttered, as he placed his backpack on the hospital bed. In about 18 hours, he would be undergoing a tonsillectomy, and he couldn't be any more nervous about it if he tried.

"Oh, Apollo, relax." Phoenix reassured, as he put his hand on Apollo's shoulder. "At least this is getting done at an actual hospital, and not at Hickfield Clinic."

"That's true..." Apollo sighed.

"You'll be fine!" Athena suddenly shouted.

"Yeah!" Trucy added. "Think about all the ice cream you'll get to eat afterwards!"

Apollo groaned at 'ice cream' as he shook his head, and stuck his tongue out. During his two weeks with the antibiotics, he would cool his throat with ice cream enough times to satisfy even the sweetest of sweet tooths! Now the mere thought of it made him feel sick to the stomach.

"Hm? No to ice cream?" Trucy pondered aloud upon seeing Apollo's disgusted reaction. "Popsicles then!" she smiled.

"Alright fine..." Apollo mumbled. Popsicles would be slightly better, at least until he burnt out on those, too! Just then, a male nurse entered the room.

"I'm Nurse Wilson. Which one of you is Apollo Justice? Nice name, by the way!"

"That would be me." Apollo answered.

"Ah, good." Nurse Wilson said. "Why don't you hop up on the bed, and I'll check your vitals while we go over the legal stuff, okay?"

"Yeah, alright." Apollo quickly said, as he followed the nurse's instructions.

"There you are." Nurse Wilson said, handing Apollo the clipboard with the waivers included. As he was getting his temperature and pulse checked, Apollo came across the dreaded word 'complications' written in bold, and immediately grew concerned.

"What is this about complications?!" He asked as soon as the thermometer was taken out of his mouth.

"Oh, just the usual stuff." Nurse Wilson answered. "Like if you get sick after the surgery because they forgot to give the meds for it, of if you start bleeding out of your mouth or nose, that kind of thing!"

"I don't like the sound of _any_ of that..." Apollo stated, now thoroughly worried.

"Ah, relax! Those don't happen often at all, if not never!" the nurse stated.

"It's true." Athena added, having used Widget to research adult tonsillectomy. "In your case, Apollo, complications only have a less than 2% chance of happening. By the way, Nurse Wilson, have you heard of 'thermal welding'? From what I see, it's an ideal alternative to the scalpel."

"Oh, yeah. I know of it." the nurse answered. "They practice it here, too, but...I don't know what the doc's gonna wanna prefer. Sorry. Definitely bring it up tomorrow, though!"

"I will." Athena stated, as she turned off Widget.

Apollo was curious by what they meant about 'thermal welding' and how it was an 'ideal alternative' and why the doctor operating on him would prefer a scalpel anyway. But he decided those questions were better off being asked to the doc themselves.

"In the meantime, just try to relax." Nurse Wilson said to Apollo. "Visiting hours are still ongoing, so just hang out with your friends here a little while longer. Oh yeah! Before I forget, you haven't eaten, have you?"

"No, I've been advised against it." Apollo stated. _But thank you for putting it in my head!_ he thought as he heard his stomach growl.

"Good! Okay, I'll go report this now. See ya!" And with that, the nurse left.

* * *

-The Next Day-

Apollo sat upright in his hospital bed, reading some of his comic books while he waited for his friends to arrive. Also to pass the time before he would undergo surgery. He hoped his friends would show up first. It would be two more chapters into the volume he was currently reading before he heard a knock on the door.

"Come in." Apollo meekly said, anticipating it to be a doctor or nurse, and was both surprised and relieved to see his friends enter the room instead.

"Hey, he's still here!" Trucy beamed.

"Well, yeah. They said it would be 'a little while longer'!" Phoenix stated with a small chuckle.

"Yeah, you can laugh." Apollo said nervously. "You're not the one who's gonna be in pain for the next two weeks!" He gulped at the thought. Two weeks of throat pain, and two weeks of essentially being mute. His Chords of Steel were gonna go soft! And that less than 2% chance of complications made him shudder.

"Ah, I'm sorry." Phoenix sympathetically remarked. "Anyway, you'll be fine, Apollo!" he said with a reassuring smile. Well, a smile that would be reassuring if Apollo _wasn't_ a nervous wreck.

"Uh, yeah, I guess..." Apollo stammered. He tried to stay calm, but the others could sense his anxiety all too well. "I'l-I'll be fine..." he stuttered.

"You sure?" Trucy asked, concern written all over her face.

"Y-yeah. I-I'm sure." he stuttered.

"It's okay if you're not fine, Apollo." Athena stated. "I've been picking up a lot of fear in your voice. Just thinking about surgery is making you quite nervous."

"I guess it is...But I'll be f-fine..." Apollo said again.

"Apollo..." Phoenix spoke up, and turned Apollo's head to face his. "You're not fine. You're nervous. Maybe even scared." There was a pause before anyone spoke again.

"...Yeah, I am." Apollo breathed out. "Truth is, I don't want to go in for surgery. At least, not by myself. I actually am kinda scared."

"It's totally normal to feel that way before surgery!" Athena stated.

"And who said you had to go in alone?" Trucy asked, crossing her arms. "I'm sure the doctor will allow even at least one of us to go in with you!"

"You think so?" Apollo asked, no longer masking his fears, as he quickly dried his eyes.

"Absolutely." Phoenix added, gently rubbing Apollo's back. "All three of us will be right at your side the entire time!" Just then, the door opened and the doctor and a few nurses came in. Apollo was given some corticosteroid and tranquilizer before being placed on the gurney to be taken to receive anesthesia. Athena, Phoenix, and Trucy seized the opportunity in the mean time.

"Um, doc..." Athena went up first. "About the alternative of thermal welding..."

"I plan to use that today." the doctor confirmed. "But, uh, is he sure he doesn't want the scalpel?"

"He is certain!" Phoenix confirmed. "We just talked it over."

"Alright."

"Uh, doctor?" It was finally Trucy's turn. "Apollo seemed nervous about going in by himself. Would it be alright if-"

"Say no more!" the doctor remarked. "Nurse Wilson, go get three more sets of scrubs."

"Heh. You guys are lucky!" Nurse Wilson remarked on his way out. "If it was Dr. Courtland, she wouldn't have been so lenient!"

* * *

-One Hour Later-

The tonsillectomy was a success. All that was left was to wait for Apollo to wake up, and he would get to go home after a few hours of observation in Recovery. After about another hour, Apollo finally came to, seeing his friends standing over him.

"Hey, sleepyhead!" Phoenix remarked.

"How are you feeling, Polly?" Trucy asked softly.

Apollo tried to verbally answer, but ultimately, it only came out as incoherent moaning. They could have sworn he tried to say "I'm fine."

"Any further questions?" Athena asked the others with a smirk.

* * *

And there's Chapter 3! So glad I got this done. =w= There will be one more chapter after this, but that's it. In the meantime, I'll be focusing on Virus and The Great Speckled Attorney.

Edit: Something I forgot to mention the first time:

*Thermal Welding is an alternative to the scalpel that uses pure thermal energy to seal and divide the tissue, leaving no post-surgical bleeding, no swelling, and pain so minimal that painkillers are not required. So Apollo had it pretty lucky! c:

End Edit.

2nd Edit: Corticosteroid is often given to a patient before tonsillectomy to prevent post-surgical vomiting. Also added a little more to this chapter. End 2nd Edit.

Honest reviews, please! c:


	4. Chapter 4

And here it is! The conclusion to this story. Enjoy! c:

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-Chapter Four-

It had been about a week since his tonsillectomy, yet Apollo was still quite a bit out of it. This was not surprising at all, as the doctor who operated on him established this would happen. While we wasn't in pain, his throat was still a bit sore, and he still had to avoid using his voice too much. He was also quite fatigued, and spent about half of his time in recuperation sleeping. The other half was spent playing card games or video games with his friends. Today would be no exception, as Apollo heard a knock on the door just minutes after awaking from a very refreshing afternoon nap.

"Apollo~ Are you up?" he heard Athena chime as he went to unlock the door. As he let them in to his apartment, he noticed there was only Athena and Trucy.

'Where's Mr. Wright?' he asked, writing the question on his notepad, and presenting it to both of them.

"Daddy has a new case to take on, so he said to go ahead without him." Trucy answered, to which Apollo nodded in understanding. "But guess what?"

Apollo cocked his head as if to ask 'what?'.

"Ta-da!" she exclaimed as she magically conjured a package of popsicles, since he had run out the day before. Apollo beamed as Trucy opened the package and handed him a popsicle, which he happily accepted.

"He also said as long as it was okay with you, we could have a sleepover." Athena added.

'Yeah, that's fine.' he said on the notepad. Apollo didn't have sleepovers often, so this was a real treat for him.

"Ready to play?" Athena asked, after getting the gaming system she brought over previously set up.

"Heck yes!" Trucy said while Apollo nodded in agreement. With that, their gaming marathon began.

* * *

They ended up playing video games on and off for nearly six hours. In-between games, both of the girls had changed into their pjs, and both each had two popsicles, while Apollo went through at least four. Not surprising, since he had to stay hydrated. They had also ordered take-out for Chinese, since they all got hungry. It was well into the evening when they finished playing their current game.

"What should we play next?" Trucy asked, before noticing Apollo rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, and realizing fatigue was taking over him again.

"Maybe we should take a break." Athena suggested as she got up to turn off the gaming system.

Apollo nodded in agreement. 'I'm really tired. Can we just go to sleep?' he asked on the notepad.

"Sounds good." said Trucy as she grabbed the nearby blankets for the three of them.

"Count me in." Athena added, as she came back to join them. As the three tried to sleep on the couch, they realized they were just a little bit snug; and all three of them like to spread out while they slept. So, they decided to lay their pillows on the floor, before laying down on the floor themselves before covering up with the blankets.

"Sweet dreams, Polly." Trucy muttered.

"Bella note, Apollo." Athena mumbled.

"Good night, girls." Apollo managed to whisper.

-The End-

* * *

And that's the story! Dang, this chapter was short! Shortest one, yet, in fact! But there's no real reason for it to be long, honestly. It's the epilogue, after all! Not my best work, I may rewrite this story one day, but I'm glad I got it done.

So post-tonsillectomy, one will be mute/limited verbal speaking for about two weeks after the surgery. Also, one will want anything soft, cold, or easy to eat during those two weeks, and one will also want to stay hydrated. (the popsicles, for instance).

As always, honest reviews, please! c:


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